Christmas memories
by Bonasena
Summary: a bunch of random little Christmas memories of the happy times in the Gibbs house with Shannon and Kelly. so far I have about 13 - might be more. stay tuned and let me know what you think.
1. christmas Pj

**This is a bunch of random Christmas stories about the happy Christmas days of the Gibbs house with our all-time favorite Gibbsling, Kelly. (it still works in the show-timeline) - please let me know what you think :)**

**1988 - December 24th**

Marine gunnery sergeant Leroy Jethro Gibbs wakes up. He slowly opens his eyes and sees his beautiful wife Shannon sleeping right next to him. Her red hair is spread out over the pillow. For the past four years, Gibbs has woken up by his internal alarm clock at 5.00 am. If he on a rare occasion manage to sleep past that his external alarm clock in the form of his 4-year-old daughter wakes him up. This morning it seems like it is neither. He looks over at his watch on the nightstand. It is 3.30 am. He looks back over at his wife and leans over to give her a kiss on the cheek and then snuggles back under the cover. He can rest for a few more hours. He barely gets to close his eyes before he hears the sound of little footsteps and the door slowly being opened.

"daddy…" a little girl's voice is heard. Gibbs sits up and looks over at the little girl standing in the doorway with her doll in her hand.

"Kell? Why are you awake this early?" he asks and sits up. He can hear his little girl sniffles. Gibbs is a highly trained marine sniper. He is trained to handle anything but hearing his little girl cries… breaks his heart. He sits up and swings his legs out from over the cover and places his feet on the cold floor. He takes a moment to get used to the cold air hitting him before he gets up and walks over to her. he kneels down in front of her and brushes a strain of hair away from her face.

"what is going on sweetie?" he asks.

"I can't sleep, daddy. Had a bad dream." Gibbs lifts the little girl up in his arms and immediately feels the wet spot on his little girl's PJ pants. He carries her into her own room and helps her get changed. He looks in her drawer for a clean set of PJ but there is only one clean set. She has been having a lot of nightmares lately and with that has come her wetting her bed also. It has been happening since she found out that he was going to be deployed next year. Gibbs isn't sure she understands exactly what it means but she is a smart girl and she understands it means he isn't going to be home for a while. He takes out the last set of clean pajamas in her drawer and walks over to help her put it on.

"no daddy," Kelly says and steps away from Gibbs when he is going to put it on her. he looks confused at her.

"its Christmas PJ. Not Christmas yet."

Gibbs can't object to that fact then he looks at his watch.

"you know it is actually the 24 of December today." He says. the little girl shakes her head.

"No daddy. Mommy said to sleep before it is Christmas."

"well, Christmas starts at midnight. And it is past midnight. So it is Christmas." Gibbs explains in his best sneaky voice and a big smile spreads on the little girl's face and she then allows her dad to help her in her Christmas pajamas.

Once the little girl is dressed in her clean pajamas the little girl looks sad at the pile of her dirty pajamas and underwear. Gibbs follows her eyes to see why she looks sad.

"mommy is going to be mad at me," she says.

"no she is not," Gibbs says and places a hand on his little girl's cheek to reassure her. the little girl doesn't seem to believe him. "Lets put it in the hamper and then I am going to clean it tomorrow," Gibbs says and picks up the clothing and puts it in the hamper. He then picks up the little girl on his arm.

"Daddy?" the little girl says and Gibbs stops and looks at her.

"Can I…?" the little girl says and then giggles shyly and hides her face into her dad's neck. "can you what?" Gibbs asks with a smile even though he knows what she is going to ask.

"sleep in your bed?" she asks.

"so I'm going to sleep in your bed? That means I am sleeping with princess bedding." Gibbs says and looks over at the little girl's pink bed with pink princess beddings on.

"no daddy. You and me sleep in your bed." Kelly explains.

"so mommy is sleeping with the princess beddings?" Gibbs asks. The little girl giggles.

"no daddy. Me and mommy and you sleep in your bed." She explains to her dad. Gibbs pretends like he is considering it for a moment. The little girl places a quick kiss on her dad's cheek. It is more sound than an actual kiss. She has done that a lot lately as a new persuasion technique.

"Alright, you make a very persuasive argument," Gibbs says and he walks his little girl into the master bedroom.


	2. Santa claus

Gunnery Sergent Gibbs is standing in his bathroom. He is applying shaving cream on his face so he can get ready for work. It is the last day of work before he is on Christmas break with his family. He hears small footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Daddy?" he hears his 4-year-old daughter Kelly calls.

"in the bathroom Kelly," Gibbs calls back. he hears the little footsteps entering the master bedroom and walks to the bathroom adjoining the master bedroom. He looks over at his little girl ho is standing in the open doorway. She in her pajamas with her doll in her hand.

"Hey, Kell. What do you need?" he asks and then turns back to look in the mirror to start shaving. He then hears his little girl laugh. Gibbs looks over at his little girl who is laughing really hard. She is now roaming around in her parents' bed while she is laughing. Gibbs steps over to the door leading to the bedroom and just watches his little girl. She is laughing too much to actually tell what is so funny. Kelly's laughter has attracted her mom, Shannons attention and she is now standing in the door leading to the hallway. She looks over at Gibbs.

"What is so funny?" she asks Gibbs. Gibbs just shrugs.

"I have no idea."

"daddy." The little girl finally manages to get out in between her laughing. Shannon looks over at Gibbs. He still has shaving cream on his face.

"what did you say to her?" Shannon asks but she can't hide her smile at her daughter's heartfelt laughter.

"nothing," Gibbs says and walks back into the bathroom to shave over the sink. Shannon walks over and lays down on the bed next to Kelly.

"What is so funny about your daddy?" Shannon asks.

The little girl manages to stop laughing and sits up.

"look, mommy." Kelly points at Gibbs who is standing over the sink shaving.

"yeah your dad is getting ready for work," Shannon explains, failing to see what her daughter finds so funny about Gibbs getting a nice clean shave and getting ready for work. The same thing that he does every day.

"daddy looks like Santa." The little girl says and starts laughing again and Shannon can't help but laugh too. More at Kelly than at Gibbs. Gibbs is now done shaving and only has a bit of shaving cream left on his face. Gibbs looks over at Shannon and Kelly.

"What did you say, Kell?" Gibbs asks and walks over to the bed while he is wiping his face clean with a towel.

"you looked like Santa daddy." Gibbs sits down next to Kelly.

"I don't look like Santa." Gibbs objects to his daughter's argument.

"yeah you did daddy. It looked like you had a big white beard just like Santa." Kelly says.

"It wasn't a beard, Kelly," Gibbs explains.

Kelly sits up and looks at her dad like she is trying to investigate something and then she looks at Shannon.

"Mommy, can I have waffles for breakfast?"

Shannon and Gibbs look confused at each other and then at their daughter. They know how much Kelly loves waffles but it is normally not her favorite choice of breakfast.

"no why would you think you could have waffles for breakfast?" Shannon asks.

"because daddy did." The little girl says and looks back at Gibbs and then to Shannon again.

"I didn't have waffles for breakfast," Gibbs says.

"yeah I can see the whipped cream," Kelly says and points to a bit of shaving cream left on Gibbs's face.

"that is shaving cream," Gibbs says and Shannon reaches over and removes it with her fingers and Gibbs leans into her touch and stares into his wife's dark brown eyes.

"you can have cereal for breakfast," Shannon says.

"not fair mommy," Kelly says and leaves the bedroom with her arms crossed over her chest and stomping with every step she takes.

"she has your temper, impatience and,stubbornness," Shannon says and gives her husband a kiss.

"and your sense of humor," Gibbs says and they both start laughing. Gibbs leans over and kisses his wife and leans over her so she is laying down on the bed and he is leaning on top of her and kisses her.


	3. Street fair

A little 5-year old girl runs among the crowd at a street Christmas marked. She is wearing her red jacket and some pink earmuffs. Her mother, a tall red-haired woman tries to keep up with the little girl to prevent her from getting lost in the crowd. The little girl is so excited about the street marked. The little girl stops in front of one of the street stands and her mother manages to catch up with her.

"sweetie don't run away from me."

"I'm not, mommy." The little girl protest as she is looking over the many Christmas themed items in front of her.

"Daddy is waiting for us. We got to go back to him." the women explain trying to get her daughter's attention, but the little girl has her attention on something in front of her. she reaches over to the middle of the table. She stands on her tiptoes just to reach her arm above all the stuff on the table. She reaches for a little green plastic item.

"What is that mommy?" the little girl asks, looking up at her mom. Her mom smiles and reaches over and picks up the item that cut her little girl's attention.

"it is a mistletoe." She explains. The little girl looks confused.

"What is that? For the Christmas tree? Can I have one?" The little girls ask excitedly. She is looking up at her mom with pleading eyes. she has difficulties saying no to her daughter's pleading, smiling eyes filled with Christmas joy. The same inability she has been criticizing her husband for. He is a trained marine who can handle anything in a warzone, but when it comes to the little two-letter word no to his daughter, he is perfectly incapable of saying it. Something that has amused her since the day their daughter was born.

The little girl's pleading eyes sparkle with joy and her mother takes out her wallet and hands the demanded amount to the streetseller. The man hands the little girl the plastic mistletoe that she wanted, and the little girl jumps in joy. the street seller wishes them a merry Christmas and the little girl takes her mom's hand as they walk back to where they last saw their last family member. The little girl's dad.

"what does this do, mommy?" the little girl asks as she is examining her new item instead of watching where she is walking.

"it brings Christmas magic. When we get back to dad, you should hold it over your head and see what happens." The little girl nods eagerly. The moment she sees her dad, still sitting at the same bench as where they left him, when the little girl had to use the restroom, she lets go of her mom's hand and runs over to her dad.

"daddy… daddy… daddy." The little girl exclaims. "look what I got." The little girls eagerly show her dad her new item. "mommy told me to do this." the little girl says and holds the mistletoe over her head. Her daddy laughs and looks up at her mom, who has now joined them.

"daddy… look." The little girl demands. Her dad looks at her and leans in and kisses her on the cheek. The little girl looks confused at her dad and then turns around herself. when she can't seem to find what she was looking for she looks up at her mom very disappointed.

"nothing magical happened mommy." The little girl says disappointed and sits down on her dad's lap. Her parents just smile at each other.

"didn't dad just kiss you?" her mom asks as she sits down next to her husband and daughter.

"year mommy, but that is not magic." The little girl protests. Her dad pretends to be offended by that.

"I think a kiss from your daddy is pretty magical." Her mom says and leans in a receives a loving kiss form her husband.

The little family arrives home, and the little girl runs out of the car and to the front door where she impatiently waits for her parents to come and unlock the door. Her mom comes over and unlocks the door and the little girl runs inside and kicks off her boots before she runs into the living room.

"Hey, young lady." Her dad calls after her. she pokes her head into the hallway and smiles innocent t her dad.

"aren't you forgetting something, Kelly?" her dad asks with a raised eyebrow. The little girl walks over and picks up her boots and puts them on the shoe rack where they are supposed to go and then she hangs up her jacket and puts her earmuffs up on the shelf before she reenters the living room. Gibbs assist Shannon in taking off her jacket and hangs it up on a hanger for her. They carry their Christmas shopping into the kitchen and helps each other putting it away.

Later Gibbs is in the basement working on his boat when Shannon calls him up to the living room. He comes into the Livingroom and immediately starts helping Shannon clearing the dining table for dinner. Shannon picks up Kelly's little mistletoe that she has already lost interest in. she left it on the dining table when she went to play in her room. Shannon picks it up and looks at it and smiles. Gibbs chuckles.

"what was the deal with that thing?" he asks and walks over to his wife.

"she walked around looking at different stalls when she found this. she asked me what it was. I told her it creates Christmas magic."

"Clearly she didn't think so," Gibbs says and lovingly wraps his arms around his wife and kisses her.

"I still think it is pretty magic getting a kiss from you." they both laugh and share another kiss. Then they hear food boiling over in the kitchen and Shannon hands the mistletoe to Gibbs and runs to the kitchen.

Gibbs picks up the mistletoe and just looks at it for a moment. Then Shannon comes in with plates and utensils to set the table. "Kelly dinner is almost ready," Shannon calls as she places the plates on the table and starts placing them out on the table. Gibbs walks over and stands behind her. She can feel him standing right behind her. she giggles.

"what are you up to, Gibbs?" she asks and turns around to see what he is doing. He is holding the little mistletoe above her head. She laughs and places a hand on his face to pull him in for a kiss.

"Hey, mommy." Kelly is standing in the doorway. Gibbs and Shannon look over at her. She looks upset.

"that is mine," Kelly says and walks over and takes the mistletoe from her dad's hand.

"It is mine," Kelly says determinedly.

"you know what it is actually for?" Gibbs asks. Kelly shakes her head. Gibbs kneels next to her to explain to her.

"it is a tradition that you hang it up somewhere in the house and then if a girl is standing under it then the man who sees her there has to give her a kiss."

Kelly just giggles.

"that is silly, daddy." Kelly giggles.

"I think it is very romantic," Shannon says and smiles at her husband.

"mommy…" Kelly says. "it is my kissing thing." Kelly looks at it and giggles and then she looks at her dad and then at her mom. Neither of her parents can anticipate what she is up to. She then holds it above her dad's head.

"mommy look." Kelly giggles and points at the mistletoe above her dad's head. Shannon is about to walk over to them. She is standing on the other side of the dining table, setting the table. The moment Kelly sees her mom starts to walk towards them Kelly places a quick kiss on her dad's cheek and then giggles. Gibbs hugs Kelly into him and places a kiss on her forehead and it makes Shannon smile too.

"Okay, Kell… could you go wash your hands? Dinner is almost ready." Gibbs asks and places another kiss on his daughter's forehead.

"Okay daddy," Kelly says and walks to the bathroom with her mistletoe in her hand.


	4. Familiy visit

**1989**

Gibbs comes home from work. It is the day before Christmas and his father Jackson is coming over for the holiday and so is Shannon's mother Joann. Gibbs gets out of the car and walks towards the front door. before he reaches the door, it is torn open by his little girl Kelly. She is wearing her favorite red dress and her hair is set in pigtails.

"daddy." The little girl greets excited. Gibbs smiles every time he sees his little girl. She is standing just inside the doorstep. She knows she is not allowed to go outside without shoes on. Gibbs picks her up for a big hug.

"look, daddy." The little girl giggles. Gibbs looks up and sees the little girl holding her new favorite Christmas decoration in her hand. Gibbs gives her a kiss on the cheek. Then he carries her inside and places her feet back on the ground.

"grandma is here. Me and mommy picked her up from the airport." Kelly informs her dad as he is taking off his shoes and jacket.

"grandpa is here too," Kelly tells her dad excited. Shannon comes into the hallway from the living room. She has been busy in the kitchen all day.

"Hey, honey." She greets and gives her husband a kiss.

"hey mommy. No kissing thing." Kelly complaints.

"I don't need mistletoe to kiss your daddy."

"it is my daddy," Kelly argues very determinedly with her arms crossed over her chest.

"my husband." Shannon shoots back at her daughter with a teasing smile. Kelly just walks into the living room. She doesn't want to argue with her mom. She knows she is right. It is her dad, no matter what her mom says.

"you really have to have that argument every day?" Gibbs asks Shannon as he kisses her again.

"if she says I can't kiss her dad I know I can kiss my husband," Shannon says determined and then breaks into a big smile and kisses Gibbs again.

"my two girls arguing over me."

"be happy. Not every handsome man has girls fighting over him." Shannon says and that makes Gibbs Blush and looks away. Shannon loves when she makes her husband blush.

"I need to go take a shower. I'll be down helping you about in 30 minutes." Gibbs says and grabs his bag. He gives his wife one last kiss before he walks upstairs.

Gibbs comes into the living room after he has taken his shower. He loves seeing his dad Jackson with Kelly on his lap.

"you know, Kelly, you should hang that up in the door, then you should stand under it and a boy will come and kiss you," Jackson explains to Kelly. Kelly looks almost weirded out by that explanation from her grandfather.

"no Grampa. It creates Magic. You want to see?" Kelly asks eagerly and is standing up before her Grandfather can say anything.

"look, grandpa," Kelly says eagerly as she runs over to Gibbs who was standing in the door. she stops in front of her dad. She just looks up at her dad with a big smile and then looks bag at her grandpa with a big anticipating smile and then back at her dad. Gibbs kneels in front of his little girl and places a kiss on the little girl's cheek. She immediately starts giggling. Both Jackson and Leroy Gibbs are amused by the little girl's heartfelt giggle.

"Kelly…" Shannon calls from the kitchen and Kelly runs past her dad and into the kitchen. Gibbs walks over and sits down on the couch next to his father.

"How are you doing son?" Jackson asks.

"I'm great, dad." Gibbs simply says and leans back on the couch and rests his head against the backrest. He seems so relaxed.

"Where did she get that mistletoe from?" Jackson asks. It makes Gibbs chuckle just thinking about it.

"Shannon brought it for her a few days ago. We went to a little Christmas street marked where she found it at a stand. Now she runs around with it all the time. Mostly getting me to kiss her or Shannon. But I am now only allowed to kiss Shannon with Kelly's permission." Gibbs chuckles.

"she is getting territorial," Jackson says and Gibbs nods with a smile. His little girl has always known what she wanted and been very determined and very aware of what was hers. Shannon has always said Kelly was a daddy's girl and Gibbs is starting to agree with her on that.


	5. Daddys girl

**1989**

**note: in episode s6e14 mentions Gibbs that he spends 6 hours in line to get a teddy bear for Kelly and in season 4 we get a glimpse of Gibbs and Kelly in the basement working on the boat. That tiny little line and the little glimpse of happy Gibbs with the little Gibbsling gave me this idea. hope you enjoy.**

Gibbs comes home after a long day. It is about 9.30 pm on December 24th. It has been snowing for days. It seems like his wife and daughter have been out shoveling snow today. Kelly's little wagon is standing next to the front door. Gibbs comes into the living room where his wife Shannon is sitting. He has a wrapped gift under his arm.

"I finally got it," he says and places the gift on the coffee table. He sounds tired.

"how long was the line?" Shannon asks.

"6 hours," Gibbs says and drops down next to his wife on the couch. "I'm gonna put it in the basement," Gibbs says after a few minutes of rest. They then hear a sound of metal hitting the concrete floor in the basement.

"who is in the basement?" Gibbs asks and sits up. He is immediately on alert b the thought of some intruder being in the house and being a potential threat to his family.

"no one. Kelly is upstairs playing in her room." Shannon says.

"Stay here," Gibbs says and gets up. He pulls his knife that he always has on him. Shannon has never liked it when her husband pulls a weapon out. Gibbs slowly opens the door to the basement. It was already cracked a bit open, which is unusual. Gibbs notice there is a dim light coming from the basement. He slowly moves onto the top of the stairs and takes a few steps down to get glims at who is in the basement. He puts his knife away once he sees the little pink slippers in the middle of the room.

"Hey, Daddy." It is Gibbs's 5-year-old daughter Kelly who is standing near his boat with a block of sandpaper in her hand.

"I am doing it as you told me to daddy," Kelly announces proudly to her dad when he steps down the stairs to take a better look at what his daughter is op too.

"that is great Kelly but you can not be down here by your self," Gibbs says and walks over to his little girl.

"I'm not Daddy."

Gibbs looks around the basement.

"I don't see anyone else down here," Gibbs says with a raised eyebrow.

"you are here, daddy," Kelly says and turns back to her work on the boat. Gibbs can't help but smile. She is technically right about that.

"But I wasn't here when you went down here and I have told you not to work on the boat alone."

"I didn't daddy. I didn't touch anything until you were home." Kelly explains.

Bending the rules but never breaking them is a personality trade that she has picked up from him. it is very useful in his line of work but not something he is particularly proud of with his daughter. And yet he can't help but smile at how she always has an explanation to justify her adventures.

"will you help me, daddy?" Kelly asks looking up at her dad with her big brown pleading eyes.

"sure," Gibbs says and takes off his jacket and hangs it on the staircase railing and then starts helping his daughter on their shared project. Shannon has been listening in on her husband and daughter's conversation in the basement. When she hears Kelly and Gibbs is deeply engaged in their project Shannon gets up from the couch and brings the wrapped gift box to the master bedroom for safekeeping. The biggest and only wish on little Kelly's Wishlist the year for Christmas is the new popular Beary smiles. A talking teddy bear. Kelly has been talking about it for a month, so Gibbs and Shannon decided to get it for her. Gibbs had called Shannon to tell her he was stopping by the store to buy it on his way home. it had taken longer than expected. He had ended up standing in a line for 6 hours to buy the teddy bear for his little girl. While Gibbs had been standing in line his little girl had been driving her mom crazy ad home. First, they had baked Christmas cookies and then played Kelly's favorite board game, but Kelly had quickly lost interest in every activity Shannon sat up for her. All Kelly was focused on when it was Christmas morning and when her dad would be home.

Kelly is taking more and more after her dad's personality trade of being impossibly impatient. Kelly had been asking all day about when her dad was coming home so they could work on the boat in the basement. That has become one of Kelly's favorite activities, mostly because Kelly thought that meant she could stay up past her bedtime and because she got to spend time with her dad. Shannon hears Kelly's giggling from the basement and walks down the stairs to see her husband and daughter fully engaged in their manual labor on their basement project. She takes a seat on the stairs and observes them for a little while. Shannon loves the sight of them together. It is the side of her husband that she enjoys watching the most.

"you want to help us?" Gibbs asks and snaps Shannon out of her thoughts.

"me?" she asks and stands up and walks all the way down and over to them.

"Yeah, mommy," Kelly says.

Gibbs grabs some sandpaper for Shannon.

"Daddy can teach you how to do it," Kelly says and continues her work. It is clear she is putting a big effort to do it right to make her dad proud of her. Gibbs guides Shannon over to the boat and he places the sandpaper in her hand and guides her hand, while he is standing right behind her. their bodies are touching. It is distracting Shannon who is more focused on how great it feels to have her husband so close to her. he has one arm wrapped around her and the other one is guiding her hand with the sandpaper. Once in a while, he places little teasing kisses down her neck. Kelly looks over at her parents and giggles every one in a while. The sound of the little girl's giggle fills the room and her parents' hearts with so much love and joy.

Christmas eve couldn't have been spent in a better way for the little family.


	6. family campfire

1990

Gibbs pulls into the driveway in front of his house. He notices his little 6-year-old daughter Kelly is walking around in the front yard. It seems like she is searching for something. It has been freezing for days in Washington DC and the ground is covered in snow and the weather forecast is promising more snow over the next few days. Gibbs has been on a training exercise for the past few days. He is feezing cold and exhausted when he walks into the house. The smell of hot freshly brewed coffee is meeting him as he enters the house. he hears Christmas carols coming from the kitchen where his wife, Shannon is. He drops his bag and takes off his coat and his shoes and walks into the kitchen. Shannon is currently finishing up after Christmas cookies. He walks over and stands behind her and wraps his arms around her waits and hugs her as he kisses her neck. She leans into him.

"hey. Welcome home," she says and looks back at him over her shoulder and he captures her lips in a loving passionate kiss. The kiss quickly grows heated but Shannon stops it.

"hey, easy marine. Kelly is home and she is awake." Shannons says in a reprimanding tone.

"she is outside. I just saw her in the front yard. It seemed like she was looking for something." Gibbs says and starts kissing his wife down her neck.

"yes. Thanks to you she is working on one of her many outdoor projects."

"thanks to me? I haven't been home for 4 days." Gibbs says in between kisses. Shannons places her hands on his face and forces him to look at her.

"she says she is on her own marine training exercise in the front yard," Shannon says. that makes Gibbs laugh.

"okay ill go oversee her training then," Gibbs says and walks back out to put on his booths on to go out to his daughter.

He comes out to the backyard where Kelly now is. She is squatting down in the snow in a corner of the backyard. It seems like she has dug a big hole in the snow.

"Hey, Kell…" Gibbs greets and walks over to Kelly. She doesn't seem to hear him. he kneels down next to her to see what she is doing.

"Hey, daddy." She says once he places a hand on her head.

"what are you up to?" he asks when he sees the pile of wood sticks she has placed in the hole she has dug in the snow.

"a survival camp to keep animals away while I'm on the overnight watch out."

"you are going to sleep out here tonight?" Gibbs asks.

"maybe…" Kelly says as she keeps focusing on her pile of wood that she is stacking.

"may I help you?" he asks.

"do you know how to build a campfire without a matchbook?" Kelly asks looking up at her dad.

"I do. You need help?" Kelly nods.

Kelly has picked up a stick that she is rubbing in between her very dirty pink gloves. It seems like she is trying to start a fire by rubbing the tip of a stick on a piece of wood. She seems to have understood part of it but hasn't gotten the technic right. Gibbs looks impressed at his little girl.

"Can I get a hug first?" Gibbs asks holding his arms out as an invitation to his daughter. The little girl stands up so she is about the same height has her dad, as he is kneeling down in the snow. She breaks into a big sile and hugs her dad.

"I missed you, daddy." She says into his neck as she is hugging him.

"I missed you too Kelly…" Gibbs says. she looks over at the kitchen window where he sees Shannon is standing and watching them.

"Mommy missed you too," Kelly says as they break the hug.

"yeah? She tells you that?"

Kelly nods. "she let me sleep in her bed last night because she missed you and you weren't here." Kelly explains.

"really? Well, I am back now. So how about you and I build that campfire?" Kelly breaks into a big smile.

"Okay, daddy."

Gibbs and Kelly stand up to get a good look at Kelly's work. Kelly brushes of her knees just like her dad does when they stand up. Then she looks at her gloves.

"my gloves got a little dirty."

"well, my gloves a really dirty too. It is actually a good thing though." Gibbs says. as soon as he has said that and he sees the interest in Kelly's eyes he knows he is going to be in trouble with Shannon for telling Kelly it has a practical advantage being dirty.

"why?" Kelly asks when her dad doesn't elaborate on his point right away.

"because it works like camouflage," Gibbs explains as he looks over at Shannon who is still standing in the kitchen window watching them. Kelly takes her dad's hand and they start working together on Kelly's little project.

Gibbs and Kelly have been outside for about an hour. Shannon walks out to the backyard with a bag of marshmallows and a can of hot chocolate and 3 cups. Gibbs and Kelly have gotten a nice little fire going in the little firepit that Gibbs and Kelly build doing the summer break in the corner of the backyard. Gibbs is sitting and watching the fire on a little stub while Kelly is busy finding more wood for fire under the snow. Shannon walks over to Gibbs. He looks up at her.

"Hey, you two. How would you like some hot chocolate and some roasted marshmallows?" Shannon asks.

"Sounds great," Gibbs says and assist Shannon with putting down the cups and the hot chocolate. Gibbs pulls over a wooden stub for Shannon to sit on, next to him. they look back at Kelly who is very busy.

"so what was she training for this time, Marine?" Shannon asks. It always makes Gibbs smile when his wife addresses him as Marine or by his rank.

"an overnight stakeout camp," Gibbs informs Shannon and it makes Shannon laugh. Kelly looks so much up to her dad, that pretty much every time she plays alone it has something to do with being a marine. She has even given herself a rank.

"What is her rank by now?" Shannon asks. "with all the training she has gotten she must be more than just mini marine." Minimarine was a rank that Kelly came up with herself for whenever she is playing marine training in the yard. Gibbs is both proud and terrified about Kelly's interest and fascination with his profession. He is proud of her that she is looking up to him and wants to be like him and learn from him but on the other hand, he is terrified that she one day will join the marine core. He would be both proud and terrified of seeing his little girl as a marine.

"I think she said her rank now is sergeant mini marine," Gibbs informs Shannon and they both start laughing at their little girl's imagination. Kelly comes over to her parents with her arms full over sticks for the fire.

"look, daddy. I found all of this. is that enough?" Kelly asks proudly as she drops the sticks on the ground.

"it is great Kelly. Good job, Marine." Gibbs says. Kelly straightens up her back and her shoulders and looks proud at her parents. Shannon now notices Kelly's gloves that are really dirty and muddy.

"Kelly your gloves," Shannon says tiredly. "I justed washed them so you could wear them for the last day of school.

Kelly looks down at her gloves.

"But Mommy…" Kelly says and looks persistent at her mom.

"they are camouflaged, mommy. So the bad guys can't see me." Kelly explains logically. Shannon looks over at her husband with a very accusing look. Gibbs just looks down and tries to avoid Shannon's accusing stare at him.

"Kell…" Gibbs says. Kelly looks over at her dad.

"When we go in we are going to put your gloves in the washing machine so they are clean for tomorrow and then I am going to get you a pair of gloves you can use for playing outside and then you can use your pink gloves for nice events, okay?" Kelly nods. Gibbs looks over at his wife trying to see if his attempted peace offering to his wife worked. She is still sending him the death-stare but he also detects a small smile on her lips.

"Kell, I got a mission for you, if you are up for it." Gibbs challenges his daughter. Kelly looks very determined. She has the same determined look in her eyes as her father so often has. "you go find a marshmallow stick for each of us. Report back here when you found it." Gibbs asks. Kelly nods eagerly with a big smile and walks away to complete her assigned mission. Shannon and Gibbs look after their little girl who runs over to some trees to find the sticks. Shannon moves closer to Gibbs and leans into him.

"you know I am holding you personally responsible if our daughter joins the marines one day," Shannon says and kisses her husband.

"she is not," Gibbs says. Shannon detects more concern than pride in his voice. Normally whenever they talk about his career or Kelly he has eminent pride in his voice.

"what if she does? How would you react?"

"terrified," Gibbs says honestly looking over towards his daughter how proudly holds up one stick. Gibbs signals a good job to her and then Kelly continues her search.

"terrified?" Shannon asks and sits up to look more directly at Gibbs. "highly trained marine gunnery sergeant Leroy Jethro Gibbs terrified?" Shannon laughs. "the marines trained you for anything. I have never seen you terrified of anything."

"I am not trained for everything," Gibbs says in a lower voice. Shannon notices something on his face that she hasn't seen in many years. The sign of insecurity. The last time she remembers seeing him insecure was the night he proposed to her and the first time he held Kelly in his arms the day she was born. But he hasn't shown any signs of insecurity ever since.

"you are trained for any mission and any possible scenario, Gibbs," Shannon says.

"Not everything. the two most important missions in my life are not something I am trained for." Gibbs says and takes a sip of his cup of hot chocolate. Shannon look bewildered at him. "I am not trained and never will be for how to be a great dad for Kelly and how to be a great husband for you. it is something I will have to learn over time."

"well…" Shannon says and places her hand on her husband's face.

"you once told Kelly that the greatest form of training comes from years of experience," Shannon says and kisses her husband passionately until Gibbs pulls back from her.

"That was what I told Kelly last week when she was complaining about how hard her math problems were," Gibbs says and they both start laughing.

Kelly comes running over to her parents.

"I report back. I got three sticks for marshmallows." Kelly says and stands right next to her parents.

"daddy…" Kelly says when her parents aren't paying attention to her but are too invested in their kiss. They break the kiss and look up at Kelly.

"I finished daddy," Kelly says and holds out the sticks to her dad.

"good job, Marine," Gibbs says in a formal tone and takes two fo the sticks from Kelly and hands one to Shannon.

"lets roast some marshmallows then," Gibbs says and Kelly takes a seat in the snow in front of Gibbs. While Shannon helps Kelly prepare her marshmallow stick Gibbs walks to the garage to get some blankets for them to stay warm. After a few days of trainingexercise in the cold snow, there is nothing better for Gibbs then to come home and spend some quality time with his two girls.


	7. late night familytime

**Christmas eve 1990**

It is about midnight. Shannon has just put their 6-year old daughter Kelly to sleep. It took a long time and she is probably going to wake up at around 5 am to see if Santa has been by with presents doing the night. Shannon walks into the living room and drops down on the couch. Gibbs has made a nice fire going in the fireplace. He comes into the living room with two cups of steamy hot creamy chocolate. He sits down next to her and places the two cups on the coffee table. He then wraps an arm around her. She snuggles into his side and he pulls her even closer with his arm and places a kiss on her head. They are sitting like that, just enjoying the quietness and each other's company. It is rare that they get to have quiet time together. It doesn't take long before they hear footsteps on the stairs and then the padding sound of bare feet on the floor in the hallway and the sound of Kelly's stuffed animal being dragged along on the floor. Gibbs is expecting to see Kelly come into the living room, but she doesn't. She knows she isn't supposed to be up now, and she knows that if her parents know she is up, her dad is going to carry her upstairs and back to her bed. Shannon has closed her eyes and is nearly asleep snuggled up against her husband.

"Kelly," Gibbs calls out.

He smiles when he can hear Kelly trying to cover her mouth with her hands to hold in a giggle from being busted for her "crime" she peeks her head into the Livingroom. Her dad is just looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"aren't you supposed to be asleep, young lady?" Gibbs asks. He can't really be upset with his little girl's 'crime'. He doesn't tell his wife, but he loves the moments when they spend time together all three of them late night in the living room. The feeling of his two girls snuggling against him is one of the best things for him. Kelly walks over to her dad and snuggles into him on the opposite side of her mom. She looks over at her mom.

"Is mommy asleep?" she asks whispering to her dad.

"I think she is," Gibbs says and places a kiss on his sleeping wife's head.

"Can I maybe sleep with you and mommy tonight, daddy?" she looks up at her dad with her big puppy dog pleading eyes. They're sparkling with Christmas joy. Gibbs has never been able to say no to his little girl. She will always be the biggest joy of his life.

"Daddy…" little Kelly says after a few minutes. Gibbs was almost falling asleep when Kelly speaks. He opens his eyes and looks down at his little girl who is leaning her head against his chest.

"Yeah, sweetie."

"what do you think I will look like when I grow up?" Kelly asks.

"I don't know… you will look like yourself." Gibbs answers.

"do you think I will be as beautiful as mommy?" Kelly asks. Gibbs notices Kelly is looking at Shannon who is sleeping snuggled up against Gibbs's other side. Shannon has a little smile on her lips as she sleeps.

"Yeah. I think you will be just as beautiful as your mom. Just like you already are, Kell. You and your mom are the two most beautiful girls in the world."

"I want to be like mommy when I grow up daddy," Kelly says and reaches over and gently brushes her fingers down her mom's cheek just like Gibbs has seen Shannon do to Kelly countless times when Gibbs and Shannon have been in Kelly's room watching their little girl sleep. Shannon so often sits down on her knees next to Kelly's bed and just gently touches Kelly's face while she is just enjoying the sight of her little girl sleeping peacefully. While Gibbs stands up and enjoys the view of his two girls. The biggest joy of his life.


	8. Christmas breakfast

**1990**

Gibbs wakes up when he feels someone is poking the back of his shoulders. He recognizes the feeling of his little girl playing with her little dolls on his back. She is also singing a little Christmas song. He almost always sleeps on his stomach so ever since Kelly was little when she slept in her parents' bed she always woke up before her parents. She would go into her room and get her little dolls and she would sit in between her parents and play on her dad's back. over the years Gibbs has gotten used to it and actually started to like it. Just lying in bed listening to his little girl letting her imagination run wild was something he always enjoyed. Gibbs turns his head but is careful not to move his torso too much to not ruin his little girl's play. He looks over at Shannon. she is peacefully asleep.

"Morning sweetie. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas daddy," Kelly says not looking away from her dolls. She seems too occupied with her dolls to pay any attention to her parents.

"is mommy awake?" Kelly asks without looking over at her mom.

"no, she is still asleep."

"can I wake her up?" Kelly asks eagerly and looks over at her dad.

"no. how about you and I go downstairs and make Christmas breakfast?" Gibbs asks. The little girl nods eagerly with a big smile and jumps out of her parents' bed and forgetting everything about her dolls that are still on her Dad's back.

Shannon has woken up by the smell of freshly made coffee and the smell of pancakes and bacon. She smiles when she hears her husband and daughter walking up the stairs.

"can I wake mommy up now?" Kelly asks. She is trying to whisper but she is too excited to be quiet.

"sure," Gibbs says. Shannon lays down under her cover to not ruin her daughter's wake up plan, but she then hears Gibbs ask Kelly where she is going. "I just need to get something." She hears Kelly say and then the door to the bedroom is opened and Gibbs walks in. he smiles at Shannon who is just peeking over the cover.

"morning." He says and sits down on the bed. She reaches over and slides her hand down his chest over his grey Marine T-shirt. He lays down next to her and kisses her.

"you know Kelly is going to be in here soon," Gibbs says in between receiving passionate kisses from his wife. Kelly comes into the bedroom and jumps into her parents' bed and squeezes herself down between them.

"daddy… I wanted to wake mommy up." The little girl says a bit disappointed.

"I was already awake, sweetie," Shannon says defending her husband. She rubs a hand on Kelly's back. "I could smell that you and daddy made bacon and pancakes." The little girl smiles and nods eagerly.

"I flipped a pancake… all by myself." the little girl sounds so excited about her accomplishment. Shannon sits up and places a kiss on her little girl's forehead before she lays down under her cover again. Both Gibbs and Shannon notice the sneaky smile on Kelly's face.

"what do you have behind your back?" Gibbs asks. Kelly giggles sneakily and lays down in between her parents. Gibbs is laying on his side resting his head on his hand that is popped up on his elbow. They are just waiting to see what Kelly is up to. Kelly takes out the little mistletoe that she got last year at a street marked and she holds it over her head and Shannon's at the same time. "look, daddy." Kelly giggles. Gibbs and Shannon look at each other and then sit up and kiss each other in front of Kelly, to Kelly's big and unpleasant surprise.

"no daddy," Kelly says and pushes her dad down on the bed by his chest. Kelly is pinning her dad down to the bed by leaning on his chest.

"not fair daddy." Both Gibbs and Shannon are laughing.

"Mommy… not fair." Kelly says looking over at her mom. "I wanted a kiss from daddy," Kelly says almost with tears in her eyes. Gibbs sits up and holds his little girl in his arms and gives her a kiss on her forehead. She leans her head against his chest while looking accusing at her mom. Gibbs and Shannon share a glance before Gibbs lifts Kelly over to sit in between her parents. Shannon takes the little mistletoe from Kelly and holds it above Kelly's head. Both her parents lean in and places a kiss on each side of her face and the little girl giggles heartfelt.


	9. Snowman

**1990**

It is on December 26th. The little Gibbs family celebrated Christmas yesterday. It was a great day and the little family had a great time. Kelly spends most of the day playing with the new toys she got for Christmas. Then in the afternoon she and her parents went to the park to go sledding. In the late afternoon when they came home they had hot chocolate and watched a Christmas movie together. It had been nice but also a long day. Kelly had fallen asleep at around 11.30 pm when she snuggled up to her dad on the couch and finally past out. Until then she had been running around playing with her dad. She had also spent some time in the basement with him working on a small Christmas project together. Gibbs had done a lot to try and run his little girl tired, but nothing had seemed to outrun the sugar-rush she was running on from all the Christmas candy and Christmas cookies.

Gibbs slowly wakes up by the bright light coming in through the master bedroom window. He looks over at his wife, Shannon who is still peacefully asleep. He gets out of bed and walks downstairs. Shannon is still asleep and most likely is his daughter Kelly too. She was up late last night playing with her new toys so Gibbs is expecting to have a few hours of quiet time before his wife and daughter wakes up. As Gibbs walks down the stairs he notices there has been someone moving around in the snow. It had snowed all night so the snow in the front yard was supposed to be undisturbed. Instead, there are big paths in the snow where the snow is gone. It doesn't seem like an animal who has run through. He walks closer to the door and now catches a glimpse of his little 6-year-old daughter Kelly out in the snow. It seems like she is rolling a big snowball, which explains the big path in the snow. Snow is up to her knees, so it is a bit difficult for her to maneuver through the snow and push the snowball at the same time but the little girl seems to have a blast. Gibbs puts on a coat and his winter boots before he gets outside.

"morning Kelly. You are up early." He says.

"morning daddy." The little girl greets and then continues to push the snowball.

"what are you doing?" Gibbs asks.

"a snowman. You want to help?" the little girl asks excited and looks up at her dad with her big smiling eyes.

"I would love to but how about some breakfast first?"

"I had breakfast daddy."

Gibbs looks bewildered at his little girl.

"my last Christmas pancake from yesterday," Kelly explains. That makes Gibbs chuckle.

"Okay, that sounds delicious. But how about a little more breakfast?"

"oh alright daddy," Kelly says and they walk to the door together.

"Please brush off the snow…" Gibbs says as he steps in, but before he finishes his sentence he sees his little girl who is covered in snow on her clothing… standing in the middle of the entrance brushing off the powdered snow inside the house. "outside the house." Gibbs says when he looks at Kelly.

"ups," Kelly says and steps outside the door and brush the last few snowflakes of her jacket. Most of the snow had already come off on the floor in the house.

"place your booths on the doormat please, Kelly." Kelly does as she is instructed. Once she has gotten her outdoor clothing off and handed it to her dad, she walks into the kitchen. Closely followed by her dad.

"how about we make French toast for breakfast?" Gibbs asks while he is setting up the coffee. His little girl nods eagerly.

"can you help me find the ingredients?" the little girl gets down from her chair and walks to the refrigerator to take out the ingredients.

Shannon wakes up to the sound of Kelly's giggling coming from the kitchen downstairs. It makes Shannon smile hearing her little girl giggle. Shannon gets out of bed and walks down the stairs. She can hear her husband and daughter are in the kitchen, probably making pancakes, which has become their favorite breakfast to prepare together. Shannon walks into the kitchen and sees her husband and daughter standing in front of the stove. Kelly is preparing the French toasts while Gibbs is cooking them. Shannon loves the sight of her husband and daughter in the kitchen. She knows her husband is a great cook and her daughter enjoys so much spending time with her dad.

"mommy," Kelly exclaims loud once she notices her mom is standing in the doorway and is observing them. Kelly runs over and hugs her mom.

"morning," Gibbs says leaning against the kitchen counter, smiling at his beautiful wife. Her long red hair is falling perfectly along her face and down over her shoulders. He isn't sure how it is possible but she seems to more and more beautiful every day he sees her.

"mommy," Kelly says eagerly looking up at her mom. Her mom seems to be lost in something. She isn't paying attention to her daughter. Shannon is getting lost in her husband's shining blue eyes. Shannon often gets lost in those shining blue eyes and she loves that sweet smile he has on his face when he is looking at her. she feels in love with that smile the first time she saw it. "mommy." Kelly says again impatiently and tucks at her mom's arms. That snaps Shannon back to reality.

"yes, sweetie," Shannon says and kneels down to her daughter.

"Daddy and I are going to build a snowman today." Kelly looks back at her dad with a big smile.

"Really?" Shannon asks impressed and that causes Kelly to nod her head eagerly. "can I help?" Shannon asks.

"Yeah. Right daddy?" Kelly looks back at her dad. He nods affirmatively with a smile before he turns back to flip the last French toast on the pan.

"breakfast is ready." Gibbs declares and flips the French toast from the pan to the plate with the rest of the toast they made. Gibbs places the plate in the middle of the nicely set breakfast table that Kelly made a big effort to set.

"I need to go to the bathroom." Kelly says and walks through the living room. "don't start without me." she yells back as she reaches the bathroom door.

"We won't," Shannon yells back and then they hear the bathroom door closes. Shannon walks over to her husband. He is leaning against the corner of the kitchen counter. She loves the sight of him in lose sweatpants and his marine t-shirt. She places her hands on his chest and he wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her closer to him. she leans in and kisses him passionately.

"Morning to you too." She says with a smile once they break the kiss and they both start chuckling. Shannon looks back to see if Kelly is coming back before she looks at her husband again and asks almost whispering.

"I thought she was going to sleep in today. She was up late and high sugar rush."

"yeah, I had hoped that too. When I came down she was out in the yard building a snowman." Shannon smiles at her husband and leans in and kisses him again before she asks in a lower and a lot more suggestive voice. "what where you hoping to do while she was sleeping in?" Shannon is suggestively and flirtatiously running her finger down his jawline.

"I could think of a few ideas." He says in the same low voice with a sparkle in his eyes.

"hmm…" Shannon says with the same sparkle in her eyes. Gibbs leans down and captures her lips in a passionate kiss.

"what are you doing?" They are interrupted by Kelly who is standing in the doorway leading to the living room. Kelly has her hands placed on her hips. She looks very suspicious of her parents.

"Waiting for you," Gibbs says casually while Shannon is hiding her face in his chest to not show her daughter that she is laughing. He can feel her laughing against his chest and it isn't making it easier for him to not smile or laugh. It has been a long time since they have been busted by their daughter in a passionate moment. Kelly used to just run over to her parents and wanted to join in but as she has gotten older she seems more suspicious of her parents when she catches them and they have also become more aware of her presence. Especially after she came home from school one day and asked if she could have a baby sister, which had completely cut her parents off guard. Kelly keeps staring at her parents.

"how about we have breakfast?" Gibbs asks Kelly after he can feel Shannon as stopped laughing. She is still leaning against him and resting her head on his chest as she is hugging him and looking over at Kelly and smiles. Gibbs is hugging his wife and doesn't really want the contact to end.

"I want a hug too," Kellly says and breaks into a big smile and runs over and hugs her parents.

After a nice breakfast proudly prepared by Kelly, the little family all put on their winter clothing and went outside to build a snowman. Kelly rolled the head of the snowman, Shannon rolled the middle part and Gibbs rolled the bottom. Then it was time to assemble the snowman Kelly helped Gibbs with the heavy lifting of the parts while Shannon assisted with some lose snow that could help stabilize the snowman and attach the parts to each other. When it was time to make the snowman's face, Gibbs and Kelly went into the garage and found an old hat and an old scarf for the snowman to wear while Shannon went inside to find a carrot for the snowman's nose. Once they were all together again around the snowman Kelly ordered her mom to find two sticks for the snowman's arms, while Gibbs was assigned the duty of finding two rocks for the eyes and Kelly assigned herself the duty of collecting smaller rocks for the snowman's mouth. Kelly runs around in the yard digging under the snow to find the small rocks while Gibbs and Shannon slowly walk around.

"you are okay with her being in charge, Gunny?" Shannon asks with a joking smile.

"ahh… for now," Gibbs says looking over at Kelly and they both smile. Shannon is leaning close into her husband. She is cold. Gibbs stops walking and wraps his arms around her and hugs her tight.

"Kelly asked me while we were making breakfast if we could do Christmas like this all the time." That makes Shannon laugh.

"all the time?" she asks.

"Yeah. Well, I think she meant every yeah."

"as much as I love having my parents and your dad to visit for Christmas... I really do enjoy just the 3 of us spending the holidays together." Shannon says and kisses her husband.

"yeah me too. I think Kelly does too." Gibbs says and they look over at Kelly how is laying on her stomach in the snow while digging deep into a hole in the snow to find the perfect rocks for the snowman. It amuses her parents.

"I found some," Kelly announces loud while her head is halfway in the snow.

"I think we should do Christmas like this every year. You, me and Kelly." Shannon says. Gibbs nods. he couldn't agree more. Christmas every year with his two girls would make every Christmas perfect.

**Note: I know… I know… we all know that is not going to happen for the little Gibbs family, but… it was a wish for the little family.**


	10. Kellys christmaswish

p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Note: I know it isn't Christmas yet, but this story popped into my head. Please enjoy, and as always, please let me know what you think of it./span/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"It is December 14supth,/sup and the snow is slowly starting to fall over Washing DC. Gibbs comes home from work. His wife is in the kitchen, preparing dinner. The smell of the food in the oven is hitting Gibbs in the face. Gibbs walks into the living room. On the dining room table are a bunch of shopping bags with what seems to be Christmas presents./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""hey, handsome," Shannon says the moment Gibbs steps into the kitchen. He wraps his arms around her and kisses her passionately. Usually, Shannon will end the kiss when it gets heated and reminds him of their four-year-old who could walk in any second, but today Shannon doesn't end the kiss, which makes Gibbs wonder./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""where is Kelly?" he asks, looking around in the kitchen. He doesn't hear her anywhere./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""she is upstairs." Shannon says and returns to stir in the vegetable on the stove. "she is very upset." Shannon says and is trying her very best to keep a smile off her face./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""why?" Gibbs asks, really confused. Usually, Kelly being upset, doesn't amuse Shannon like this./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""We went to the mall today, and she went to talk to Santa."br /"okay?" Gibbs says. That doesn't clarify anything for him. Usually, Kelly loves going to talk to Santa Clause at the mall./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""you should go ask her herself," Shannon says. Gibbs looks at Shannon, really confused, before he leaves the kitchen and walks upstairs. Gibbs knocks on his daughter's closed door. Kelly always leaves her door open when she is playing in her room; when he doesn't sound from her, he slowly opens the door./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""permission to come on board?" Gibbs asks. Kelly loves when her dad talks to her as she is a marine, but today. He doesn't get an answer. He looks around in the room and notices Kelly sitting in her bed with a blanket over her head. She has her back to the door. Gibbs walks into the room and closes the door./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Hey, Kell." Gibbs says and walks over and sits down on the bed next to Kelly. "how was your day?" he asks and tries to pull the blanket off his little girl's head, but she holds on to it./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""not good." He can hear the little girl is crying. It always breaks his heart, hearing his little girl in tears. He kan train to handle any situation as a Marine scout sniper, but one thing he can never train for or learn to deal with is seeing his little girl in tears./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""how about you come out of there and tell me what is going on?" Gibbs asks. He leans back against the wall and waits for Kelly to come out of the blanket herself. After a few moments where he has been rubbing her back over the blanket, Kelly finally gives up and pulls the blanket down from her head./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""I hate Santa Claus." The little girl says with tears in her eyes and her hair electrified by the blanket. Gibbs gently runs his hand over her hair and wipe a tear falling down her face away with his thumb./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""why? What did Santa Clause do?" Gibbs asks. Kelly usually loves Santa Clause, and since Wednesday, Kelly talked about how excited she was to go and see Santa. Kelly had talked about a very special wish for Christmas this year, but she had been very secretive about it. Every time her parents asked her about it, Kelly would giggle without giving away the wish. She had told her mom that she only wanted to say it to Santa Clause./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""he doesn't want to give me what I wish for Christmas. It is not fair." The little girl complains and climbs onto her dad and leans into his chest. "I have been nice this year, daddy."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""I know you have, sweetie." Gibbs places a kiss on his little girl's hair. "why don't you tell me what your Christmas wish is?" Gibbs asks./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"The little girl signs heavily and takes a moment before she finally tells her dad what her special Christmas wish is./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""I want a little sister," Kelly says. That was not what Gibbs was expecting. Kelly looks up at Gibbs. "I told Santa that, and he didn't want to give it to me."br /"why do you want a baby sister?" Gibbs asks, even though he isn't sure he wants to know the answer./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""because my friend Sofia is getting a little sister for Christmas. I want one too, daddy. So I told Santa, and he said I couldn't have that, and I have been nice." Kelly says, persistent./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""I know you have Kelly, but I think there is a limit to what Santa can make in his workshop on the north pole." Gibbs tries his best to reason with his 4-year-old daughter. He now understands why his wife had a hard time, not smiling./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""why daddy?" Kelly asks, /"But Daddy…" Kelly says after a few moments of silence where Gibbs has been trying his best to come up with an explanation. Gibbs looks at his little girl./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""can you make one for me? Mommy always says, you can make anything?" Kelly asks. Gibbs has absolutely no explanation or answer for that. Shortly after, he is saved by his wife, who comes in and tells them dinner is ready. Gibbs knows from the smile on Shannons face that she just overheard what Kelly said, but she is not going to comment on it. She had just decided to save him from Kelly's impossible question./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"After Shannon has put Kelly to bed, she walks downstairs, where the living room is dark. She doesn't hear any noise from the basement either, which is usually where she will find her husband at this time of day. Shannon turns off the light in the kitchen and then notices a tiny light coming from the basement but still no noise. Shannon slowly pushes the door open. Her husband is sitting on the top of the stairs./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""what are you doing?" Shannon asks and takes a seat next to him. she places a hand on his leg./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""thinking." He responds./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""careful. It can be dangerous." Shannon says, and it does generate a small smile on Gibbs's face. "about what?" she asks when her husband doesn't elaborate on his thoughts./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Kelly's wish," Gibbs says while looking into the darkness of the basement. He ignores the shocked look on his wife's face./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""I don't know if I should be concerned or…"br /"We have been talking about it," Gibbs /"Yeah, we did." Shannon interrupts. She waits for her husband to look at her before she continues. "before you got another deployment. I can't be alone with an infant and Kelly with you overseas for 6-9 months." Shannon says, almost angry at him for even thinking about it./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""what if I didn't deploy again?" Gibbs asks and looks at Shannon with a rugged look. "what if I retired?" he continues. When she doesn't respond, he continues. "what if I got a normal job, like an office job? Then I would be more home with you and Kelly. You have sometimes talked about how it feels like you are rasing Kelly by yourself."br /"no. stop," Shannon says with a serious look. "don't even think about it." she almost sounds angry now, which surprises Gibbs./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""don't even consider for a moment to retire from the marines to please me." Shannon stands up and walks into the living room again. Gibbs look surprised after her and then quickly follows her./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""I am not saying this to please you. I have been thinking about it for a while. I love being in the corp, but what I love the most in my life is being with you and Kelly."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""so what, you want to be a suburban stay at home dad?" Shannon asks, irritated./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""no. I was thinking of maybe get an office job. Maybe as a cop or security. Many marines do that when they retire." Gibbs argues./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""is that really what you want?" Shannon asks with a serious look at her husband. "some office job?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""what I want is to have the most time with you and Kelly," Gibbs says, walking closer to Shannon. he wraps his arms around her and kisses her./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Were you serious about having a second child?" Shannon asks when they end the kiss. The kiss seems to have softened up her emotions./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""though about it," he admits honestly./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Let's talk about it after your next deployment." Shannon says and starts walking towards the staircase. "come on. Let's go to bed." Shannon says, and Gibbs follows his wife upstairs with a big smile on his face./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Note: we all know what happened doing his "next deployment" /spanspan lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI Emoji',sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-char-type: symbol-ext; mso-symbol-font-family: 'Segoe UI Emoji';" /span/strong/p 


End file.
